Swiatek eyes French Open birthday boost, Sinner, Gauff into last 16
Reigning champion Iga Swiatek will hope for an easier third round at the French Open as she turns 23 on Friday after saving a match point against Naomi Osaka, while Coco Gauff eased into the second week for a fourth straight year and Jannik Sinner also powered through.
After Swiatek takes centre stage, Carlos Alcaraz will bid to reach the last 16 and edge closer to a semi-final meeting with Sinner, who brushed aside Russian Pavel Kotov 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev suffered a shock exit at the hands of unheralded Italian Matteo Arnaldi, losing his cool repeatedly as anger at his performance boiled over.
Gauff held off a late fightback from Australian Open semi-finalist Dayana Yastremska to win 6-2, 6-4 in the first match of the day on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The reigning US Open champion has an excellent record at Roland Garros, having previously reached two quarter-finals and the 2022 final which she lost to Swiatek.
The 20-year-old failed to serve out the match when leading 5-2 in the second set, but saved three break points in the 10th game before getting over the line.
"When it was time to close out and the games were getting close and tight, I was trying to just remind myself I'm in the better position," Gauff said.
"I'm the one up a set and double break, so I was just reminding myself of that."
Gauff will play Elisabetta Cocciaretto for a last-eight berth, after the unseeded Italian beat Russian 17th seed Liudmila Samsonova in straight sets.
World number one Swiatek has emerged as the dominant women's force at the tournament, where she holds a 30-2 record and is a three-time winner following her breakthrough Grand Slam triumph at the Covid-delayed 2020 tournament.
However the Pole found herself on the brink of a shock second round exit against fellow four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka before rallying to take the final five games and keep her bid for a third successive French Open crown intact.
"I just kept going forward and I hope that my game is going to get better because of that," said Swiatek, whose third-round exit at this year's Australian Open came after a tough three-set duel the previous round.
"I'm not comparing it because I don't want to find any patterns that are not really necessary," said Swiatek, reluctant to dwell on the past.
Swiatek, looking to become just the second woman after Serena Williams to complete the clay-court treble of Madrid, Rome and French Opens in the same season, will be heavily favoured against 42nd-ranked Czech player Marie Bouzkova.
"With Iga it's kind of almost like playing a boy on the other side of the court. She plays very heavy balls and moves super well," said Bouzkova.
- Angry Rublev crashes out -
Rublev became the biggest casualty in the men's draw so far, as he fell to a surprise straight-sets defeat by Italian Matteo Arnaldi.
Rublev, who lifted the Madrid Open title last month, repeatedly smashed his racquet in frustration as he made 37 unforced errors in an erratic display.
"Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed," admitted the Russian.
"The problem is the head, that today basically I killed myself, and that's it."
Arnaldi will face either former runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas or China's Zhang Zhizhen in the last 16.
Sinner barely had to break sweat, though, saving the only break point he faced in a dominant display against Kotov.
The Australian Open champion, who will overtake Novak Djokovic as world number one if he reaches the final, will next take on either home hope Corentin Moutet or Austrian Sebastian Ofner for a place in the quarter-finals.
Sinner, who has only lost two matches so far this year, is yet to drop a set in the tournament.
St.Ch.Russell--EWJ
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